In the wake of reports Saturday that UCLA coach Ben Howland has been fired, the school released a statement saying that he has not been fired. / Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

by Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports

by Eric Prisbell, USA TODAY Sports

UCLA has relieved men's basketball coach Ben Howland of his duties effective immediately, the school announced Sunday night.

"I looked at entire program and where I felt we were especially headed into next year," UCLA athletics director Dan Guerrero said on a teleconference Sunday night. "I felt like now was an appropriate time to make a change and get a fresh start."

Guerrero said he made his decision on Sunday and that he met with Howland Sunday afternoon to inform him of his firing.

Howland's departure from UCLA appeared like an inevitability after 11th-seeded Minnesota beat sixth-seeded UCLA by 20 points late Friday night at the Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

Howland did not return a voicemail and text message seeking comment. The terms of his contract will result in a $3.5 million buyout, Guerrero said ($2.3 million the first year, and $300,000 for the next four).

By the standards at most schools, Howland's on-court performance at UCLA was sterling. He reached three consecutive Final Fours between 2006 and 2008. He has more Final Four appearances than all of the other current Pac-12 coaches combined (one). He won at least 25 games in five of his 10 seasons. And UCLA is fresh off a Pac-12 regular season title this season.

Despite the success, his tenure has also been defined by significant challenges. Last season a Sports Illustrated story painted Howland in a negative light and raised questions about his relationship with players. Attendance at home games has been an issue, even at the renovated Pauley Pavilion and with a talent-rich roster.

Guerrero said he'd had a great relationship with Howland and enjoyed working with him, prompting him to give him an opportunity this season "to continue with the program and move it forward and try to get it on stable footing."

And though there were no specific benchmarks Howland had to meet this season to keep his job, Howland disappointed in a few key areas. In addition to not exciting the fan base, he also did not get his team past the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

The methodical offensive style has at times clashed with the persona of Hollywood, though the Bruins featured a more up-tempo pace this season. Former UCLA great Bill Walton even criticized Howland during a television broadcast this season.

"I know that Ben got a lot of knocks for style of play, but Ben Howland is a very good coach," Guerrero said, adding that he plans on hiring a coach who will play a "fun brand of basketball."

UCLA missed the NCAA tournament in 2012 and 2010, and the Bruins have not advanced to the Sweet 16 since reaching the Final Four in 2008.

VCU coach Shaka Smart, the 35-year-old who led the Rams to an improbable Final Four berth two seasons ago, is likely to be on athletic director Dan Guerrero's short list. But among the concerns could be Smart's reluctance to be overly marketed and promoted, which can come with the territory at UCLA.

It can be a glamorous job, but not an easy one. The expectations are not Final Four berths but rather national championships â?? plural. John Wooden won 10 in 12 years, and the school is still searching for someone to fit that image ever since he retired in 1975.

What's more, navigating the Southern California world rife with agents and other third-party handlers can be tricky and challenging for any coach who wishes to operate above board.

Guerrero said he hopes to hire a new coach that can excite the fan base, recruit athletes who can "thrive" academically (which includes graduating) and also compete in one of the top conferences in the country. He expects to attract great candidates because of UCLA's strong basketball tradition, brand-new facilities and a fertile recruiting ground.

"I have an idea of where we'd like to go," he said, adding that he would not contact coaches still in the NCAA tournament until their current teams lose.

Recruit the kind of student athletes who will thrive academically and compete at the highest level in the country.

Howland's final season encountered adversity from the start. A lengthy NCAA investigation shadowed star freshman Shabazz Muhammad's debut. An early-season loss to Cal Poly dampened expectations and heightened scrutiny. And even after UCLA won the league regular season title, it saw second-leading scorer Jordan Adams go down with a broken foot in the final moments of a Pac-12 tournament win against Arizona.

During a 10-minute interview with USA TODAY Sports and Sports Illustrated following the loss to Minnesota, Howland spoke at length about how proud he was of his players for persevering through adversity all season. And before Adams was hurt, Howland's optimism for the NCAA tournament soared.

"I thought the team was really close to reaching ceiling," Howland said. "We just beat Arizona for third straight time. And we were really on our way. I was really confident about our chances in the tournament."

Said Guerrero: "That was very unfortunate that that occurred to Jordan. He was in many ways the heart and soul of our team." But wondering how far UCLA would have advanced had it had Adams would be "speculative" and there was "no need to really dwell on it," Guerrero added, though "the fact that we had such a depleted roster (without Adams) â?¦ was one of the reasons for making that decision."

After Adams was hurt, Howland said he was "very subdued" because he knew how significantly the injury could affect his team. And his worst basketball-related fears were realized in the Minnesota game, which will now be the final dubious chapter of a tenure that also included tremendous success.